Comparing trends in coral calcification over large spatial and temporal scales is crucial for understanding how corals respond to environmental changes and for identifying patterns of resilience or vulnerability across different regions and time periods. Over the course of a year, a coral grows at different rates and leaves a pattern of alternating high and low density bands, much like the annual rings of a tree. Coral skeletons serve as natural archives of coral growth, with annual growth bands reflecting variations in growth and calcification rates. These data can provide insights into the correlation between historical coral growth and water quality, temperature and ocean chemistry.
Computed tomography (CT) offers a non-destructive method to visualize and analyze these internal structures with precision, enabling the identification of growth trends over time. The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Coral Program is systematically CT scanning its collection of about 2000 coral cores from over 100 islands and reef sites throughout the Caribbean, western Atlantic, and Pacific. This dataset provides the opportunity to observe trends in coral growth and calcification over a large spatial area, and between islands and reefs.
The objective of this internship is to analyze CT scans of coral cores to quantify the historical growth and calcification rates of the AOML Coral Program’s large collection of coral cores using specialized, free software to identify and demarcate growth bands, ultimately calculating calcification data from them.